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Tuesday, 7 October 2014

OPEN LETTER TO MAYOR AND COUNCIL

An Open Letter to Mayor and Council

October 7,2014

Dear Mayor and Council,

On
March 20, the Langley Times reported that Township staff were preparing
a report for Township Council identifying Township-owned properties
that could be sold to pay for future infrastructure in Langley Township.
We the undersigned, are concerned about the implications of this
article. Six months have passed without this staff report being made
public. We write to you with the assumption that it has not yet been
presented to Council.

As
the article acknowledges, past and present policy with regard to the
sale of what the Township has identified as “surplus property” has
generated much controversy. The approach that the Township has taken
appears to many to be secretive and reactive. There is an obvious need for a process with greater transparency, one grounded in sound planning.

The
lands belonging to the Township are the collective property of the
community of Langley. Decisions regarding the management of 'surplus
properties' greatly impact the public good and will affect the patterns
of future development in the neighbourhoods in which they are located.
Decisions regarding the sale or retention of these lands must take a
long-term view. We are particularly concerned that the ecological value
of 'surplus properties' be given greater consideration.

Under the current approach, it appears thatthe Township has proceeded without adequately considering or informing itself about the ecology of parcels placed on the market. It has therefore been left to individual citizens and community groups to bring these issues to the attention of Council and Staff. In
response to protest Township has made ad hoc corrections that have
failed to address the larger problem. The danger that significant
ecosystems could be lost remains.

Although heartened by the implication that the above mentioned staff report will be released to the public upon receipt by Council, there are a number of additional steps that we feel Mayor and Council can undertake.

1) Council
should direct Staff to undertake consultations with stewardship groups
and other environmental and community groups to assist in the
preparation of the staff report. Upon
completion of the staff report, it should be presented to Council and
released to the public at the same time. We urge Council to authorize
this action in a timely manner and to see that the completion of the
report is not delayed.

2)
Develop a comprehensive inventory of Township lands that would be
publicly accessible on the web. In time this could include the results
of ecological surveys of individual properties that have been prepared
by public or private entities.

3)
Prepare a comprehensive plan for the sale and retention of Township
lands that takes into account the ecological value of particular parcels. The impact on Langley aquifers from any resulting destruction of forests and wetlands must be considered. The
Township should commit itself to the principle that our natural
heritage should not be sacrificed in the development of modern
amenities.

4)
Council has made it a uniform practice to invoke Section 90 of the
Community Charter as a way of closing meetings of Council to the public
when land sales are under consideration. The resulting lack of
transparency compounds the difficulties in the issues already discussed.
When a sale is well-advised, this practice hinders maximum advertising
to prospective buyers, and when a sale is ill-advised it prevents the
public from seeing their elected representatives debate the proposal.
The public interest is thus served by greater transparency in both
instances.Only exceptional circumstances can justify invoking Section 90
in the circumstance of land sales. We strongly urge Council to invoke
Section 90 sparingly in the case of land sales and on a case by case
basis.

5)The
comprehensive plan should recognize that although a policy of selling
off real estate to generate capital can have merit in some circumstances
care must be taken that land worth more monetarily in the future could
be lost through poor planning. Holding on to 'surplus properties' may
also provide a much needed source of income in the future.

Finally,
we urge Council to take these steps in a timely manner so that the
ensuing discussion and debate on Council and amongst the public can begin before, and not after, the upcoming municipal election this November.We
would encourage Council and staff to begin the process by meeting with
community groups prior to November 1st. We would be pleased to
participate in such a meeting.

Respectfully,

Watchers of Langley Forests

Salmon River Enhancement Society

*Both
groups have reviewed this letter and being convinced that the issue is
an important one that should be addressed they have joined together to
send this letter.